A civil society organisation, the Human Rights Watch Foundation, Nigeria, has criticised calls by the South-East Caucus of the House of Representatives for the resignation of the Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, following the technical failures that affected the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
The statement signed by its Vice President, Tijjani Sarki, on Wednesday, the group described the resignation demand as “premature, unfair” and motivated by “selective outrage and political grandstanding.”
“Yes, the technical failures during the 2025 UTME were deeply unfortunate, with undeniable consequences for thousands of young Nigerians, particularly those in the South-East,” the statement read. “But while these setbacks demand swift investigation and accountability, calling for Professor Oloyede’s head is not the answer. It is, quite frankly, a misguided overreach.”
The group also questioned the double standards of lawmakers, noting that similar calls were not made for the resignation of leaders in other institutions plagued by “far worse scandals,” such as the Independent National Electoral Commission, the Central Bank of Nigeria, and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited.
“We must ask, where was this righteous indignation when other institutions faced far worse scandals? None of these triggered calls for mass resignations,” the group queried, adding that Oloyede’s reforms have transformed JAMB into a model of efficiency and transparency.
The Human Rights Watch Foundation commended Oloyede for accepting responsibility for the technical failures and authorising free retakes for the nearly 400,000 affected candidates, describing it as evidence of true leadership.
The group called for the suspension of any JAMB officials found culpable and advocated for a transparent investigation into the incident but cautioned against scapegoating reformers.
“Let us not set a dangerous precedent where scapegoating replaces sound judgment, and genuine reformers are punished for isolated technical lapses while chronic failures in other sectors are ignored,” the group added.
However, the South-East Caucus of the House had demanded the cancellation of the 2025 UTME and the resignation of the JAMB boss over the technical failures.
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